Specialty compositions, which can contain luminescent probes that are sensitive to environmental parameters such as, for example, temperature and pressure, have a variety of analytical applications. For example, specialty compositions can form coatings used to remotely determine the surface temperature of an object in a non-invasive manner.
Objects can be coated with films containing the sensing compositions which emit light of varying intensities, depending on temperature and oxygen pressure. In a specific example, temperature-sensing compositions can be used in combination with compositions for measuring the pressure of an oxygen-containing gas on an aerodynamic surface by oxygen-quenching of luminescent pressure sensing compositions. These compositions can be used to provide convenient and inexpensive methods for determining pressure or temperature maps at surfaces. An example of a pressure-sensing composition includes a phosphorescent porphyrin which has an emission that is quenched by oxygen. This quenching can be used to quantitatively measure the static pressure on the surface of the object. In certain circumstances, the emission of the pressure-sensing composition can have temperature dependence in addition to pressure dependence. Accordingly, pressure measurements containing a temperature-sensing composition can be corrected by sensing fluctuations in the temperature in addition to pressure.